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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Judge Robert Faircloth, a World War II U.S. Marine Corps veteran and longtime judge in Mountain Brook, celebrated his 100th birthday as the Shades Valley Rotary Club organized a drive-by birthday parade in front of Faircloth’s home Aug. 4.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Judge Robert Faircloth, a World War II U.S. Marine Corps veteran and longtime judge in Mountain Brook, celebrated his 100th birthday as the Shades Valley Rotary Club organized a drive-by birthday parade in front of Faircloth’s home Aug. 4.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Judge Robert Faircloth, a World War II U.S. Marine Corps veteran and longtime judge in Mountain Brook, celebrated his 100th birthday as the Shades Valley Rotary Club organized a drive-by birthday parade in front of Faircloth’s home Aug. 4.
In his first hundred years, Judge Robert Faircloth has seen quite a bit.
He served as a marine at Guadalcanal and Guam during World War II, was a U.S. administrative law judge for 35 years and was married to his wife, Peggy, for 64 years.
But on Aug. 4, when he turned 100, Faircloth saw something he hadn’t seen before — cars stretched as far as the eye could see outside his home on Corinth Drive, all taking part in a parade to wish him a happy birthday.
“It was a block long,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Faircloth knew that people were coming to see him, but he thought his family had invited only a handful of well-wishers from his church, Brookwood Baptist Church. But the Rotary Club of Shades Valley, which Faircloth has belonged to for 18 years, got involved, and the small gathering turned into a full-fledged parade.
“Early on, we were planning to have a party at one of our meetings, because how many people turn 100 and are still the first ones in the door every week?” said Claude Rhea, president of the Rotary Club.
But COVID-19 interfered with the party plans.
“If we’re not meeting, we figured we better figure out something else to do,” Rhea said. “We decided to have a parade.”
So after consulting with Faircloth’s family, members of the church and Rotary Club gathered at Cherokee Bend Elementary School, the parade’s staging area. There, about 30-40 cars were decked out with balloons and other decorations, and they made their way to Faircloth’s home about a mile away.
“We fixed up all the cars and lined up, with motorcycle police leading the parade,” Rhea said. “We were stretched around the block.”
In a nod to Faircloth’s military service, a sound system played “The Marines’ Hymn” and some Souza marches before a Marine Color Guard presented the colors to Faircloth after the National Anthem. In addition, some singers from Brookwood Baptist performed.
The Rotary Club didn’t stop with the parade. The 130-member club came very close to having 100 cards sent to Faircloth, still an active Rotary member.
“It was just an honor to be a part of it,” Rhea said of the celebration. “To a person, we all said that despite the pandemic, despite all of the hurdles, we were honored to contribute memorably to his celebration. It was neat to be able to give back to him.”
Faircloth said he was glad his visitors, each of whom received an Edgar’s cupcake from the family, were having a good time.
“Everyone enjoyed it, I think, not only me,” he said. “It was unbelievable, really. I couldn’t understand the number of cars that were down the road. I couldn’t see the end of it.”
Though Faircloth said he’s slowing down a little bit, you wouldn’t know it. He still drives, attends church and Rotary regularly and, to hear people tell it, looks pretty sharp for a guy a century old.
“If you were just driving by, you’d say he looks great for 75,” Rhea said.
